Grayson Bruce of Buncombe County, N.C., said kids at Candler Elementary School picked on him because he was carrying the fuzzy, blue bag with cartoon pony Rainbow Dash's face on it

Receive the latest national-international updates in your inbox

This images show the original My Little Pony characters. A North Carolina school has banned a 9-year-old boy from carrying his “My Little Pony” lunchbag.

Updated at 2:13 PM EDT on Wednesday, Mar 19, 2014

A North Carolina school has barred a 9-year-old boy from carrying his “My Little Pony” lunchbag to school, saying it caused bullying.

Grayson Bruce of Buncombe County, N.C., said kids at Candler Elementary School picked on him because he was carrying the fuzzy, blue bag with cartoon pony Rainbow Dash's face on it, USA Today reported.

Top News Photos of the Week

Grayson’s mom, Noreen Bruce, said the bullying got so bad that he didn’t want to get out of the car, so she decided to alert the school staff. But a counselor she spoke with wasn’t helpful and suggested Grayson hide his lunchbag inside his backpack instead, Bruce said.

Then the principal called Bruce and told her the lunchbag should stay at home, but Bruce said she didn’t think that was the solution.

Extreme Weather Photos: Malaysia Floods

"I said, 'You're missing the picture here. You're telling him that it's OK for them to make fun of him,’” Bruce said, according to USA Today.

Bruce is now homeschooling Grayson and is scheduled to meet with the school’s superintendent on Thursday to discuss the bullying.

Bruce and her two friends started a Facebook page in support of Grayson. By Wednesday, it had over 50,000 likes and a petition on Change.org asking that Grayson be allowed to bring his bag to school garnered 6,000 signatures.